Turn It Up

Scott Council

(Scott Council)

Nic Harcourt

TÊTE-à-TÊTE: GREG KURSTIN

Think of him as a Swiss Army knife of the music industry. This Los Angelesbased multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer has worked with artists as diverse as Ben Harper, Janes Addiction, Kylie Minogue and Pink. His most recent work includes cowriting songs for and producing Lily Allens latest hit CD, Its Not Me, Its You. I caught up with Kurstin recently to find out what makes this renaissance man tick.

Nic Harcourt: You moved to New York in the late 80s to study jazz, but you discovered a slew of music while you were therewhat was your takeaway?Greg Kurstin: After high school is when I really started listening to a lot of jazzCharles Mingus, John Coltrane, Sun Ra and Miles Davis. Thats when I moved to New York to study with Jaki Byard, who was Mingus pianist. In New York, I listened to a variety of music, such as African and Brazilian and especially hip-hop, which inspired me to get more into drum machines and sampling sounds.

NH: Your first band was Geggy Tah, which had a pretty big hit in 1996 with Whoever You Are. What kind of impact did that
have on your career?GK: Whoever You Are was a new experience for me. Having a song being played on the radio was tremendous, but then eventually it wasnt on the radio anymore, so it was back to the drawing board!

NH: When I met you in 2002, you were working as musical director for Beck, as well as for Gwen Stefani. What does a musical director do?GK: Beck needed to rehearse a new band but was in Europe doing a solo tour. I knew his songs, so I rehearsed the band and began working out the arrangementsthats one of the roles of a musical director. With Gwen, they asked me to put together a live band and rehearse them until the songs were ready to be played on tour.

NH: You worked with Inara George, one of my favorite vocalists, in the band The Bird and the Bee. What drew you guys together musically?GK: I played keyboards on Inaras first solo record, as well as in her live sets, where we began to play eerie versions of old jazz standards at the end of the shows. I was doing more producing and writing at my home studio, and we started recording songs together. This eventually became the first Bird and the Bee record.

NH: You have a whole bunch of production credits, including recent albums by Britney Spears and Lily Allen. Whats it like working with artists who are in the news for everything but music?GK: Theres a bit of a racket going on when theyre being chased by the paparazzi on the way to the studio, but once were in the room together, its like working with most artists. Were all just trying to make the best music we can.

NOW HEAR THIS

Artist: EaststrikewestTrack: StumbleAlbum: Unreleased, myspace.com/eaststrikewestbandI was at a conference in Liverpool recently, and somebody handed me this song on a promo CD. Im a sucker for big anthemic indie shoe-gaze pop songs, and this fits the bill on all counts!For Fans Of: Coldplay, U2

Artist: Zee AviTrack: Bitter HeartAlbum: Zee AviThis Malaysian singer posted a few videos on YouTube and caught the eyes and ears of Shins manager Ian Montone. Her debut album, recorded here in L.A., is a collection of bubbly acoustic songs about boys.For Fans Of: Meiko

Artist: Sonic YouthTrack: Sacred TricksterAlbum: The EternalTwenty-five years on, and one of indie rocks pioneer bands is still at itand still means it! On this song, Kim Gordon delivers a blistering two-minute jagged commentary about being the girl in the band.For Fans Of: PJ Harvey, Pavement

Artist: EngineersTrack: Clean Coloured WireAlbum: Three Fact Fader From the U.K. comes the Engineers second full-length release, with a collection of dreamy, layered space pop. This opening track pops with bubbling electronic beats over a slow psychedelic dirge.For Fans Of: Human League, New Order

Artist: WilcoTrack: "Everlasting Everything"Album: WilcoJeff Tweedys band always uses the studio to expand its regular instrumentation. The end trackwith horns and strings and the lyric everlasting love is all you haverounds out the album nicely.For Fans Of: Radiohead, Lucinda Williams

FACE THE MUSIC

ElbowOne of Britains most highly lauded bands of the last few years, Elbow has steadily built a touring fan base here in the States with little to no radio airplay. Guy Garvey and his mates create perfect montages in which to get lost. July 22, L.A.: Wiltern Theatre

Philip GlassFrom film scores and symphonies to collaborations with dancers (Twyla Tharp) and poets (Allen Ginsberg), Glass has created a body of work to rival any of the masters. He's an iconand lets face it, how often can you picnic with an icon?July 23, L.A.: Hollywood Bowl

Lykke LiFor a country as small as Sweden, theres sure a lot of indie singer-songwriters. Lis debut CD, Youth Novels, was released last year and created quite the buzz with a mix of beats, choirs and poetic pop. Live, shes a riveting theatrical performer.August 4, L.A.: Wiltern Theatre